A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a production process for a (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether.
B. Background Art
As to processes for producing a (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether by reacting an olefin and a (poly)alkylene glycol, for example, the following processes are disclosed: a process in which strong acid cation-exchange resins are used as the catalyst (e.g. Japanese Allowable Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 57-35687 and Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 2-295941); a process in which heteropolyacids are used as the catalyst (Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 3-148233); and a process in which benzenesulfonic acid or toluenesulfonic acid is used as the catalyst (Japanese Allowable Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 61-51570).
However, where the strong acid cation-exchange resins, the heteropolyacids, the benzenesulfonic acid, or the toluenesulfonic acid is used as the catalyst, there are problems in that because the (poly)alkylene glycol which is a raw material is a diatomic alcohol, the reaction tends to involve a dehydration polycondensation reaction or dehydration cyclization reaction of the (poly)alkylene glycol itself as a side reaction to form water, and this formed water tends to react upon the olefin to form an alcohol as a by-product, so the resultant selectivity to the (poly)alkylene glycol monoalkyl ether is extremely low. For instance, examples of some preferred embodiments as set forth in the Japanese Patent Application Publication (Kokai) No. 2-295941 disclose that when ethylene glycol and dodecene are reacted using Nafion H (fluorine-containing strong acid ion-exchange resin), made by E. I. Du Pont DE NEMOURS & Co., Ltd., as the catalyst to produce ethylene glycol monododecyl ether, dodecanol forms as a by-product in a proportion of 7 to 10 mol % of the ethylene glycol monododecyl ether.